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Press Releases

Dancing for Spring at Kempinski Vienna Ball Beijing 2017

The glamorous third Kempinski Vienna Ball was held at Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center on March 25, a grand event that depicted the Austrian tradition and the enchanting welcome into spring. The event brought authentic Austrian ballroom culture, a love and appreciation for couture delicacies and music to Beijingers fond of European traditions, lifestyle and classics.

“As partner of the Kempinski Vienna Ball Beijing 2017, it gives us great pleasure to have you in this year´s Ball! My sincerest thanks go to Managing Director Torsten Dressler and his team, the City of Vienna and all the other sponsors who made this wonderful event possible again this year.

The Kempinski Vienna Ball has already become a yearly highlight in the calendar of many people! It truly brings Viennese lifestyle, hospitality and tradition to Beijing and gives us the opportunity to spend an elegant evening together while enjoying Austrian gourmet food and waltzes through the night to famous tunes performed by the Original Strauss Capelle Wien. Opera singer Daniel Serafin entertained us with famous melodies and the Ball was followed by a young debutantes committee”, said Dr. Irene Giner–Reichl, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the People´s Republic of China.

*A speech delivered by Dr. Irene Giner -Reichl, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the People's Republic of China

The most anticipated social event in Beijing

These rites endow the balls with a unique charm. The quadrille is the most eye-catching at every Vienna ball. The Kempinski Vienna Ball follows this tradition and was opened by the dance of the debutantes and their escorts led by the celebrated dance instructor and former state opera solo dancer Heinz Heidenreich.

Later on at the stroke of midnight, they have performed the traditional quadrille under the watchful gaze of all the guests in the ballroom. All the debutantes’ beautiful ball gowns were created by the official outfitter of the ball - Tanya Couture, founded by one of China’s most influential designers Tanya Wang in 2009.

Heinz Heidenreich is an exceptional talent when it comes to dance. He has been – among others – the principle dancer of the Vienna State Opera Ballet and led Vienna Balls all over the world to prestige and recognition including the Vienna Opera Ball in New York, Hong Kong and Berlin.

Choreographer Heinz Heidenreich, who took charge of this traditional ceremony, has been a balletsolo dancer at Vienna State Opera and participated in Vienna balls many times. Close to midnight, when the second quadrille begun, Heidenreich orchestrated and taught every step and led guests to dance along.

At the ball, the renowned Original Wiener Strauss Capelle performed a variety of classical pieces, accompanied by beautiful melodies from the land of Vienna.

It is a true pleasure to hear the world-famous waltzes and polkas as they were composed for the ensemble by the Strauss dynasty and to see how the “Original Wiener Johann Strauss-Capelle” dressed on festive occasions.

Daniel Serafin has been praised as an extremely versatile artist. Daniel Serafin has worked with noteworthy artists including Academy Award Winner Maximilian Schell and Roman Polanski, Ferruccio Soleri, Volker Schlöndorff, Helmuth Lohner, Brigitte Fassbaender, as well as the legendary Otto Schenk.

‘Land of the Waltz’

Initiated in 1935, the Vienna Ball has a history of more than 80 years of bringing together some of Europe's most high-class, royal and elite society and still remains the most important social event in Austria today. Each year, over 400 balls are held in Vienna, a “city of world music,” drawing the participation of over 300,000 dancers from around the world to the Land of the Waltz. Among them, the Vienna Opera Ball, held at the Vienna State Opera, is most famous and receives recognition as such all around the world.The ball's customs spread to England and other countries, but none can be as romantic and formal as Vienna's. Their love for balls is traced back to the 18th century at a time when only noblemen or upper-class persons were allowed to wear masks or gowns on private occasions. Emperor Josef II held many balls at the Hofburg Imperial Palace which were open to the public, from which the Viennese learned court etiquette. This standard is still practiced today. Picturesque at best, at the Vienna Ball, guests wear gorgeous gowns and dance gracefully under chandeliers.

The ball's customs spread to England and other countries, but none can be as romantic and formal as Vienna's. Their love for balls is traced back to the 18th century at a time when only noblemen or upper-class persons were allowed to wear masks or gowns on private occasions. Emperor Josef II held many balls at the Hofburg Imperial Palace which were open to the public, from which the Viennese learned court etiquette. This standard is still practiced today. Picturesque at best, at the Vienna Ball, guests wear gorgeous gowns and dance gracefully under chandeliers.

Kempinski served the most delectable gourmet food from the land of music, waltz and gallantry.

Tasting Authentic Wine

Taste the best of Austrian premium wines and unwind in our vineyard, pergola and grass fields.

Vienna is a city of music and a city of grape wine. A land filled with vineyards in its downtown area, it is the only capital in the world that produces large quantities of fragrant grape wine in an urban area. At the Kempinski Vienna ball, guests danced and tasted authentic premium Austrian wines.

The Art of Coffee

Guests taste the fresh-ground coffee at Vienna Coffee House. Viennese are proud of coffee and consider it of equal importance with music and waltzing, this is regarded as the “three treasures” of Vienna.

“Vienna Coffee”, a renowned brand there, is famous for its fresh cream and sweet chocolate. The cream is further decorated with colorful grains of rice. The sweet chocolate syrup, cold and soft fresh cream, and hot, fragrant, and slightly bitter coffee give it a different taste. Some consider the skill in tasting Vienna coffee as enjoying the three sections at the very point when they are about to be mixed together. It is said that the Turks introduced coffee to Europe, but the Viennese have since turned the art of coffee drinking into an art and a lifestyle.

Kempinski Vienna Ball supports the “Sunvillage” charity program

The charity raffles program at the ball was also a great success. All the proceeds will be donated to the “Sunvillage”, a non-governmental charity program that Kempinski Hotel Beijing has been supporting over the past one year.About Sunvillage

Sunvillage is a non-governmental charity driven orphanage which was established in 1996. The kids do not only receive proper education, but also learn independence, sharing and are integrated into society. Over a period of 20 years, Sunvillage is now located in nine provinces in China, providing shelters for over 2,000 unattended children. For more information please visit: www.sunvillage.com.cn

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